Mirror, Mirror
by Zim'sMostLoyalServant
Summary: “There’s an old expression that mirrors show us for what we really are, instead of what we perceive ourselves as." Gaz is about to learn this the hard way. Oneshot.


**A/N: And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give to you my Halloween oneshot for this year. Sorry I got it up so late, but I had to rewrite the ending a few times to get it just the way I wanted… even so, it's still a little dull.**

**Anyway, it's a little dark, just to warn you, and it's also another one of my anti-Gaz fics. If you don't like that theme, then I'm going to take Dibsthe1's advice and tell you all to stop reading now; I don't want any flames about character bashing.**

**That said, read on!**

**Disclaimer: All characters and concepts related to Invader Zim belong to Jhonen Vasquez. Anything original in this fic belongs to me.**

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** Mirror, Mirror**

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It wasn't an unusual looking store; in fact, it was so ordinary that Gaz almost didn't notice the place. It was situated at the end of an alley, the shadows of late afternoon almost completely obscuring it from view. If one didn't look closely enough, they would assume that the store – which was the same dull grey as the walls of the alley – was actually the back wall of the dead-end lane.

The only reason Gaz actually did see the place the first time she passed by it was because she hadn't been playing her GameSlave at the time – and the only reason this mini-miracle had occurred was because her batteries had died on her, and Dib had used up the spares to power some new stupid gadget to spy on Zim… or was it to track Bigfoot? She hadn't really been paying attention to her brother's ramblings at the time.

In any case, after beating Dib senseless for using _her_ batteries – he was lucky she'd managed to save her game before her batteries died, or he'd be in the hospital – she had gone to buy more. And it was while she had been on the way to the "Battery Tower" – the same place where she'd confronted Iggins for stealing the GS2 that was rightfully hers – that she had happened to glance down the alley and notice the store.

Now, after getting her batteries and on her way back home, Gaz paused at the opening of the alley and gazed at the store. She didn't know why it had captured her attention, but it had, and now refused to let go. Deciding to just go in and satisfy her sudden curiosity, Gaz walked down the alley, heading straight towards the shop door. As she did, she noticed the sign hanging in the window. The painted lettering was faded, but the sign still clearly read:

**GOTHIC ANTIQUES**

As she read that, Gaz paused. On one hand, antiques were usually boring old things that predated video games and were therefore not of any interest to her. On the other hand, though, it did say _gothic_ antiques, so there might be _something_ worth looking at.

Making up her mind, she opened the door and stepped inside. The curtains on the windows were partially drawn, blocking most of the exterior light, and there were only a few lights inside the store, which barely gave enough light to see with, and in fact seemed to extend the shadows made by the shelves and various objects scattered around the store. The overall effect made the place look dark, mysterious, and a little creepy… Gaz kinda liked it.

"Can I help you, dear?" a soft voice spoke out of the shadows, making Gaz jump in surprise.

Turning around, she peered into the darkness and could just make out an old woman who looked liked she had just stepped out of some 1930s B-movie involving gypsies. She had a hooked nose, a wart on her cheek, and she was wearing what looked like a cloak, of all things. Gaz raised an eyebrow at the woman's strange appearance, before replying.

"No. Just looking."

The woman shrugged, and waved a gnarled hand at the store. "Help yourself."

Gaz walked among the aisles for a while, but soon became bored. The place apparently mostly contained books, and she had never been a big reader – unless it was game manuals, of course, but those were actually interesting. Other than the books, there were a few statues and masks and things like that, but nothing really caught her attention. However, just as she was about to leave, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye that _did._

It was a mirror, not quite full-length but pretty close. It was oval-shaped, with rims made out of what appeared to be polished ebony. Much like the store itself, Gaz seemed drawn to it, though she couldn't explain why; it might have had something to do with the strange symbols carved into the rims. She didn't know what they meant, if anything, but they were cool to look at.

Lifting the mirror up – it was surprisingly light – she carried it over to the old woman, whom she now noticed was sitting behind an old desk next to a battered old cash register. Gaz set the mirror down on the desk and looked the woman in the eye as she reached for her wallet.

"How much?" she asked.

"For this? Ten dollars."

Gaz blinked in surprise and looked at the old woman like she had grown another head.

"How is this piece of junk worth ten bucks?" she asked incredulously.

The woman frowned. "Dear child, this mirror is most certainly _not_ a 'piece of junk'. It is a very rare, very unusual object – you're lucky I'm charging you so cheaply."

"Whatever," Gaz snorted, handing the woman a ten while muttering, "I don't even know why I even want this stupid thing so much."

The woman gave a mysterious smile. "Perhaps it is meant for you."

Gaz raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She just grabbed her new mirror and quickly left the store, more than a little freaked out.

Not that she would ever admit it.

XXXXXXX

When she got home, she found Dib sitting on the couch, holding an icepack to the large bruise on the side of his jaw. She merely rolled her eyes at that and made her way past him towards her room.

"I thought you were getting batteries," Dib said, eyeing the mirror his sister was carrying.

"I was, but I found this weird shop and decided to buy this thing," Gaz replied, pausing to give her brother the evil eye.

"Anything else you need to know?" she snapped.

Dib flinched at the veiled threat in Gaz's voice and held up his hands in self-defense.

"No, I'm good."

Gaz grunted, and then carried the mirror upstairs. Once in her room, she found the perfect spot on the wall, directly opposite her bed. After a few minutes, she had the mirror set up perfectly, and took a minute to admire how it went with her décor; she'd gotten rid of her evil-looking dolls when she had hit thirteen, but there were still plenty of disturbing posters and knickknacks scattered around the room, and they complimented the mirror just fine.

XXXXXXX

A few hours later, the dark in Gaz's room was disturbed when the symbols carved into the rims of the mirror began glowing a faint red. A low noise filled the air, like several voices whispering together in a strange language.

Gaz didn't notice any of this, however. She was fast asleep, but she didn't seem to be sleeping peacefully; as soon as the symbols began glowing and the whispering started up, she began tossing and turning in bed, sweat beginning to form on her brow as she muttered in her sleep.

XXXXXXX

_She looked around herself; she couldn't see anything except endless darkness. A few moments later, some of that darkness cleared away, revealing that she was standing in her living room. The windows were pitch black, not letting any light in. Because of this, despite the fact that the darkness was gone, the room was still filled with shadow._

"_Mine," a guttural voice called from somewhere behind her._

_Despite an intense feeling of not wanting too, Gaz turned around. There was nothing behind her, but she was standing near the entrance to the kitchen._

"_Mine," the voice said again, this time definitely coming from the next room. Something about this voice filled Gaz with a fear she'd never felt before. Despite not wanting to go anywhere near the voice, she felt her legs moving of their own accord, taking her into the kitchen. When she entered, she felt her heart stop momentarily in shock as she beheld the source of the voice._

_It was… she didn't know what it was. It looked like it was about her height, but it was hard to tell since it was hunched over. Its body was covered in dark fur that stopped just short of its hands and feet, which had claws in place of fingers and toes._

_Its back was turned to Gaz as it rooted through the fridge, but a few seconds later it turned around and revealed its face. The head was completely smooth and hairless, and looked as though someone had attempted to smash it flat against its body. The only features that she could make out were its beady black eyes and its nose, which looked like it would better suit a pig._

_As Gaz watched, it lifted an old pizza box that it had found in the fridge, grabbed the leftover pizza, and without an apparent second thought shoved half of it into its mouth. As it chewed the mass of cheese and sauce with its sharp, disgustingly yellow teeth, it finally seemed to notice Gaz._

_Its beady eyes observed her for several moments, during which time she tried to run, only to find that her legs refused to move. She struggled as hard as she could, but she couldn't budge a muscle._

"_Mine!" the beast shouted suddenly, clutching the remains of the pizza to its body protectively with one clawed hand. It then raised its other hand in a threatening manner._

"_Mine!" it shouted again, running straight towards her. Gaz's legs finally decided to cooperate, but she only had a chance to stumble backwards and fall to the floor before the beast brought its claws down on her._

XXXXXXX

Gaz shot up in bed, a scream dying on her lips as she clutched her heart, which was still pounding in terror. Her nightclothes and bed sheets were soaked in sweat; Gaz wiped some off of her forehead and took a few calming breaths with her eyes shut. Once her heartbeat had returned to normal she opened her eyes – and found herself looking directly at the beast from her nightmare.

"Aaaahhhh!" she shouted, jumping back in fright. She then blinked in surprise as the beast did the same thing. Her eyes then widened in shock as she realized why; she was looking at the mirror, but instead of her reflection, it was showing the creature in her place, mimicking her every movement.

"What the hell?" she muttered, the monster's bloated lips moving in time with hers.

She hopped out of bed and jumped around a bit, keeping her eyes on the mirror the whole time. And as she expected, every time she moved the creature moved with her.

"This can't be happening," she said quietly, "This is impossible. I'm probably just sick, that's all. Yeah, I'm just seeing things, that's it."

Having made up her mind, Gaz quickly dressed and left the room, heading down to the kitchen. Although, an observer would have noticed that for all her apparent calm, she never once looked at the mirror during all this.

Dib was already having breakfast when she arrived in the kitchen, though he seemed more interested in some books he had spread out over the table. Hearing her enter the room, he glanced up and gave her a concerned look.

"You okay?" he asked, "I thought I heard something a few minutes ago."

"I'm fine," Gaz snapped as she headed towards the cabinet to grab some cereal, "Not that it's any of your business, but I had a nightmare."

Gesturing towards the books on the table, she asked, "What is all that crap, anyway?"

Dib shrugged. "I noticed some of those symbols on that mirror you brought home yesterday, and they looked kind of familiar, so I decided to look them up. So far the closest I've found is some old curses, but I don't know why anyone would curse a _mirror_, of all things…"

Gaz paused with a spoon halfway into her bowl of cereal.

'Curses?' she thought. A few years ago she would have laughed at the idea, but then there had been that whole "Shadowhog" incident. And if there was a spell to make everything she ate taste like pork, why couldn't there be one that made her reflection look like some kind of monstrous freak?

She was brought back to the present when Dib, still rambling, said, "…so, I was thinking maybe you could let me have a look at that mirror? If I could just examine it for a little bit-"

"No," Gaz snarled. She didn't care if her mirror was cursed, it was still hers, and she didn't like other people touching her property. "I don't want you getting your greasy fingers all over my stuff."

That said, she stood up and stomped out of the room.

"Hey, where're you going?" Dib called after her, "We have to leave for Skool in a few minutes."

"I feel sick, so I'm not going in today," Gaz growled over shoulder, "If you don't like it, bite me!"

Dib opened his mouth to say something, but instead just sighed and shut his mouth. He could tell Gaz wasn't sick, but knew it would be pointless to try and talk her out of skipping Skool. She didn't do it often, at least, but when she decided to he couldn't talk her out of it. So, he simply put his books away and got himself ready for the day.

Up in her room, Gaz stood staring at her distorted reflection. It stared back at her, its beady eyes seemingly mocking her, and its bulk extending out of sight past the mirror's edges… she hadn't noticed in the dream just how fat it was. Its large stomach hung down near its knees, and several chins dangled from its face; combined with the snub nose, the creature looked very much like a giant pig.

Hearing the door shut as Dib left, she waited several minutes before grabbing her keys and leaving as well. Somehow, she had the feeling that that old gypsy lady knew about this, and Gaz was going to find out how to undo whatever was happening with the mirror.

She'd paid good money for it after all, and she wasn't go to let some stupid curse ruin that.

XXXXXXX

The old woman apparently hadn't moved from the spot she'd been in when Gaz had bought the mirror. She also apparently wasn't too surprised to see Gaz again so soon, since the smile didn't leave her face even when Gaz slammed her hands down onto the desktop.

"Problem, dear?" she asked.

"Yes, actually, there is!" Gaz snarled, "You didn't tell me that stupid mirror was cursed!"

"Cursed is a bit of a strong term," the gypsy replied calmly, "That mirror was designed for a very special reason."

"Special? What's so special about making me see myself as a fucking monster?!"

"There's an old expression that mirrors show us for what we really are, instead of what we perceive ourselves as. In this case, it's literal." The woman paused for a moment, her smile morphing into a sneer, "If it shows you as a monster, perhaps you should reconsider how you live your life."

Gaz clenched her fists. "Just tell me how to undo the stupid curse."

"You can't," the old woman said simply, "The magic is fused into every atom of the mirror. It's a permanent spell."

Growling, Gaz spun on her heel and stomped towards the door.

"Leaving already?" the gypsy asked, the smile plastered back on her face.

"Oh, I'll be back," Gaz replied, "And you better be ready to give me back my money, 'cause I'm giving the mirror back."

After she left, there was silence for a few moments before the old woman gave a dry chuckle.

"Oh, I doubt that."

XXXXXXX

As soon as Gaz got home, she made her way straight to her room and attempted to remove the mirror from her wall. However, she found that she no matter how hard she pulled and tugged, the mirror wouldn't move an inch; it was as if it had fused to the wall. After one final tug, Gaz let go, panting for breath. As she glared at the mirror, she noticed what appeared to be a note sticking out from between it and the wall.

"Where'd _that_ come from?" she muttered as she pulled the note out and unfolded it. Crudely printed onto the paper were two words that made her blood boil:

**No refunds.**

Yelling in frustration, Gaz ripped the note in half, then ran over to her closet and pulled out her baseball bat. She then turned and glared at her cursed reflection.

"Just because I can't return you, doesn't mean I have to be stuck with you."

With something akin to a battle cry, Gaz lunged forward and slammed the bat into the mirror. The glass shattered easily; but before Gaz could celebrate that or even move, the now-broken mirror began glowing, before releasing a blast of light that sent her flying backwards.

She hit the wall hard and collapsed, blacking out before she even hit the floor.

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_She found herself once again in the darkened kitchen. The beast was sitting at the kitchen table, a pizza box in front of it. It was ripping slice after slice out of the pie and stuffing them into its mouth. But to her surprise, even as she watched, the beast shimmered and changed into a perfect duplicate of her. The duplicate continued eating the pizza, although at a slower pace than the beast had – she was actually taking time to chew._

_There was the sound of footsteps, and Dib suddenly stepped into the kitchen, walking right past Gaz and up to her duplicate._

"_Hey Gaz," he said, "Think I could get a slice of that?"_

"_No," the duplicate replied, picking up a fresh slice._

"_Come on!" Dib whined, "Not one slice?"_

"_No!" Duplicate-Gaz said again, growling almost as loud as the beast had, "It's mine! You hear me? I paid for it with _my_ money, so it's all mine!"_

_Before Dib could say anything, the scene faded away and Gaz could feel herself waking up._

XXXXXXX

As Gaz's eyes fluttered open, she noticed that the light from outside seemed to have faded somewhat; she must have been unconscious for a while. She attempted to pull herself up, but she froze and her eyes widened in shock as she realized that the hand gripping her bedpost wasn't a hand… it was a claw, attached to an arm covered in dark fur.

'No…' she thought, looking down at herself and seeing a huge bulging stomach also covered in fur, and beneath that a pair of clawed feet. She desperately clutched at her head, feeling completely smooth skin, several chins and a squat nose.

Scrambling to her feet, she ran towards her bathroom, just barely managing to squeeze her bulk through both doorways. She was hoping that this was just some kind of illusion, a side effect of breaking the mirror – but that hope was dashed when she looked into the bathroom window and saw the beast staring back at her.

"No!" she shouted. Or attempted to anyway; all that came out was a guttural roar.

"_You shouldn't have broken the mirror, child,_" the voice of the old woman said, seemingly coming from midair, "_When you did, you released its magic. Now, instead of merely showing you your own inner evil through the mirror, it has brought that evil to the surface. Now, everyone will see you for the greedy, gluttonous beast you really are._"

"You can't do this to me!" Gaz tried to shout as she stumbled out of the bathroom and down the hallway, not caring that all that came out was another roar. "I'll make you pay for this! I'll make your life a living nightmare! I'll…"

She continued in that vein as she stumbled into the living room, and was only cut off when the front door was burst open and several figures in black suits rushed in. Gaz barely had time to register that before one of them lifted some sort of device and aimed it at her. With the flick of a switch, a large bolt of energy shot out of the device and hit her, knocking her out before she knew what hit her.

XXXXXXX

Dib stood outside his house and watched as the Swollen Eyeball agents loaded the creature he'd found in his house into a containment cell in the back of an unlicensed van. He'd been pretty surprised when he had come home; he had decided to check on Gaz, and instead had found that thing lying on the floor in her room, among the broken shards of her mirror.

Seeing that, he had quickly come to the conclusion that the mirror must have been some kind of portal to another dimension and that this creature must have come through. After concluding that, he had called for SEN reinforcements and waited for them outside the house. He was just glad Gaz apparently hadn't been home when the creature showed up.

'God only knows how it might have hurt her,' he thought, as he watched the agents cart the beast off for a bunch of painful experiments and tests.

After watching the van drive off, Dib walked back into the house and grabbed a broom; Gaz would probably want that mess in her room cleaned up by the time she got home.

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**The End**

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**A/N: Like I said, the ending's a little dull, but I hope you all enjoyed the fic anyway.**

**Read and review, and happy Halloween!**


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